This book deals with the history, evolution and meaning of the
Spanish coat-of-arms, flag and anthem. It is an excellent book,
written by experts on each subject. The first section (225 pp.)
deals with the coat-of-arms and was written by Faustino
Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, the foremost Spanish
heraldist and a member of the AIH committee. It includes
interesting studies on the origins of each quarter of the Arms
(current and ancient). The second section (155 pp.) deals with the
flag and was written by Hugo O’Donnell. It includes articles
on the contest and election of the 1785 war ensign (the current
national flag), on the origins of the purple shade in the 1931
Republican flag etc. The third section (100 pp.) deals with the
anthem and was written by Begoña Lola.

Excellently edited but originally quite expensive (EUR 150,00),
a paperback version [cpc00a] (EUR 57,10) plus
a cheaper hardbound re-edition [cpc00a] (EUR
120,00) have made it more easily available. The book was published
by the Spanish government, originally destined for “gifts of
state”, so that the 1999 edition numbered only 1000 copies,
of which 962 were distributed by the
King and the
Prime Minister among official
entities (Ministries, regional and provincial governments etc.)
and as “gifts of state”, only 38 being sold through
a very limited dealer network, according to the person in charge
with whom I spoke at the publishers.